DHS SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

FRG Overview for DHS S&T DCOS

Daniel CotterDirector

First Responders Group

Science and Technology Directorate

Date: October 13, 2017

DHS Science and Technology Directorate | MOBILIZING INNOVATION FOR A SECURE WORLD 2

S&T MISSION

To deliver effective and innovative insight, methods and solutions

for the critical needs of the Homeland Security Enterprise.

S&T Visionary GoalsGuiding R&D Investment and the Path to Innovation

DHS Science and Technology Directorate | MOBILIZING INNOVATION FOR A SECURE WORLD 3

RESPONDER OF THE FUTUREProtected, Connected, and Fully Aware

RESILIENT COMMUNITIESDisaster-Proofing Society

ENABLE THE DECISION MAKERActionable Information at the Speed of Thought

TRUSTED CYBER FUTUREProtecting Privacy, Commerce, and Community

SCREENING AT SPEEDSecurity that Matches the Pace of Life

FRG Mission

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Strengthen first responder safety and effectiveness

3.3 Million First Responders,

70,000 Organizations,

$144B in Annual Operating Costs

FRG is unique in supporting research for all first responder disciplines

FRG Impact Themes

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Making first responders safer

and more effective Powering industry and

spurring innovation

Securing communities

across America

Protected, Connected and Fully Aware

FRG’s Focus Areas

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Firefighters Security Officers

911 OperatorsState/ Local Law

Enforcement Officers

1,100,000 250,000

1,100,000 2,200,000850,000

U.S. Public Safety CommunityUnited States: 326+ million people served daily by first responders;5.5 million responders, 70,000 organizations, 240 million 9-1-1 calls per year

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Emergency

Operations Centers

6,000

EMS Professionals

Terror tactics continue to evolve,

requiring responders to adapt their

training, plans, procedures and

equipment. After their van plows into

a crowd, terrorists engage in a

stabbing attack in London, England.

The frequency and severity of natural

disasters are increasing. Hurricane

Harvey resulted in extensive flooding

that displaced tens of thousands in

the area of Houston, Texas.

Responders face multiple threats to

their health and safety. Firefighters

encountered chemical toxins while

battling an industrial fire in Moerdijk,

Netherlands.

Civil unrest is increasing in many

countries, endangering the safety of

responders as they attempt to

maintain the peace and separate

opposing factions.

8DHS Science and Technology Directorate | THE EVOLVING EMERGENCY RESPONSE

ENVIRONMENT

Evolving Response EnvironmentFirst Responders Face Diverse and Evolving Threats

Traditional and Social Media

Incident details are disseminated at an accelerated pace and distance, often in real time and

from victims and bystanders

Advances in TechnologyEver greater access to new technologies that improve responder capabilities

Threats and Hazards

Increased frequency and severity of violent incidents and natural

disasters

Human Behavior and Perception

Human activities and threat perceptions affect how people act during incidents

9DHS Science and Technology Directorate | THE EVOLVING EMERGENCY RESPONSE

ENVIRONMENT

Impacts on the Response Environment

• Incidence and severity of natural disasters rising globally

10DHS Science and Technology Directorate | THE EVOLVING EMERGENCY RESPONSE

ENVIRONMENT

Threats and HazardsNatural Disasters

• Urban and coastal development alter terrain

• 39 percent of U.S. population lives in coastal shoreline counties –development in these areas exacerbates coastal erosion

• Human construction and residential activity:

• Alters the ability of soil to store moisture, increasing the frequency of floods

• Causes coastal areas to become fully exposed to weather conditions

• Destabilizes coastal structures

• Puts more people in harm’s way when disasters strike

11DHS Science and Technology Directorate | THE EVOLVING EMERGENCY RESPONSE

ENVIRONMENT

Threats and HazardsHuman Activity and Natural Disasters

• Behavior of civilians and potential victims endangers emergency responders (e.g., rescue of those that refuse to evacuate in advance of hurricane landfall)

• Bystanders now rush towards the area of greatest danger to capture images and video of ongoing incidents

• Responders must now try to protect additional members of the public, while trying to neutralize threats

• Growth of disaster-scene video hobbyists

12DHS Science and Technology Directorate | THE EVOLVING EMERGENCY RESPONSE

ENVIRONMENT

Human Behavior and PerceptionHuman Behavior

• Accessibility of data provides responders and commanders with greater awareness of incident-related information

• Smartphone apps provide navigation, information and decision support

• Potential for some technology to provide significant advances in situational awareness (e.g., unmanned aircraft systems)

13DHS Science and Technology Directorate | THE EVOLVING EMERGENCY RESPONSE

ENVIRONMENT

Advances in Technology

Limited budgets

Culture, tradition and perception

Need for daily-use equipment

Despite new developments, there are some factors that do not change:

14DHS Science and Technology Directorate | THE EVOLVING EMERGENCY RESPONSE

ENVIRONMENT

What Does Not Change

FRG’s Makeup: Divisions, Programs and Special Projects

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Stakeholders and Collaborations FRG Stakeholder Groups• First Responder Resource Group (FRRG)

• New York Area Science and Technology (NYAST) Forum

• Project 25 Compliance Assessment Program (P25 CAP)

Advisory Panel

• Social Media for Emergency Services and Disaster

Management Advisory Committee (SMESDMAC)

• Video Quality in Public Safety (VQiPS) Working Group

Government-Sponsored Groups• Integrated Justice Information Systems (IJIS) Institute

• InterAgency Board (IAB)

• National Academy of Sciences

• National Geospatial Advisory Committee (DOI FACA)

• National Public Safety Telecommunications Council

• Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC)

• SAFECOM

• Emergency Communications Preparedness Council (ECPC)

Training and Exercises• Mutual Aid / Social Media Exercise, New Orleans, LA

(January 2017)

• NATO / SPS Advanced Regional Civil Emergency

Coordination Pilot (January 2017)

• NGFR Technology Experiment (TechEx), Grant County, WA,

(June 2017)

• National Mutual Aid Technology Exercise (June 2017)

• 2017 First Responder Electronic Jamming Exercise

(JamX 17), Idaho National Laboratory, ID (July 2017)

• Urban Operational Experimentation (OpEx), New York, NY

(scheduled for August 2017)

• Harris County, TX, ICAM / Trustmark FirstNet Interoperability

Experiment, Houston, TX (September 2017)

• Canada-U.S. Enhanced Resiliency Experiment (CAUSE)

(Annual, October 2017)

• NUSTL Rad/Nuc Training (ongoing) 16

Associations & Public Safety Engagements• American Public Television Stations

• Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association

(AFCEA)

• Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials –

International (APCO)

• Central United States Earthquake Consortium

• International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)

• International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM)

• International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC)

• International Wireless Communications Expo (IWCE)

• National Bomb Squad Commanders Advisory Board

(NBSCAB)

• National Emergency Managers Association

• Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR)

Broadband Stakeholders Meeting

• U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Foundation

FRG’s Stakeholder DrivenSolution Development Process

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Gather First ResponderNeeds

Solicit and Award Contracts

Manage and CompleteProjects

Identify Stakeholder

Requirements

Transition Solutions

Into Use

Prioritize Requirements

Conduct Operational Field Assessment

Examples of Technology Developed

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FRRG Meeting

FINDER

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Commercially Transitioned Technologies ExamplesProject Name Transition Partner / Manufacturer Purchase Information / Support

Fire Ground Compass® Halcyon Products, Inc. http://www.halcyonproducts.com/fgc/

Board Armor™ Board Armor® http://www.board-armor.com/

Low Light TPZ Camera Industrial Video and Control Co. http://www.ivcco.com/

Flex-Tuff HS Glove

(Improved Structure Firefighting Glove)Shelby Specialty Gloves

http://www.shelbyglove.com/flextuff/flex-tuff-

hs.html

First Responder Support Tools (FiRST) App Applied Research Associates, Inc. https://www.firstsupporttools.com/

Pipe Bomb Cutter RE2, Inc. http://www.resquared.com/products/eod-tools/

Virtual Training: Enhanced Dynamic Geo-

Social Environment (EDGE)California Fire & Rescue Training Authority http://www.fireandrescuetraining.ca.gov/

Radio Internet-Protocol Communications

Module (RIC-M)

Christine Wireless, Inc.

Avtec, Inc.

http://christinewireless.com/purchase/

http://www.avtecinc.com/scout/integration/ric-m

Wildland Firefighter Advanced Personal

Protective System (WLFF APPS)

Workrite Uniform Company

Crew Boss PPE

http://www.workrite.com/

https://crewbossppe.com/

High Definition (HD) Video Encoder (HD-S600) Digital Barriers https://www.digitalbarriers.com/tvi-encoders

Finding Individuals for Disaster and

Emergency Response (FINDER)

R4, Inc.

SpecOps Group, Inc.

http://www.r4-inc.com

http://www.specops-group.com/

Prepaid Card Reader ERAD Group https://www.erad-group.com/erad-prepaid

ViSi Mobile® System

(Wireless Patient Vital Signs Monitoring)Sotera Wireless, Inc. http://www.soterawireless.com/

FRG Outcomes

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Government-off-the-

Shelf Software

Commercial Products

Sold by Industry

Knowledge Products Standards

Field Experiment After

Action Reports and

Technical AssessmentsTraining and Testing

First Responder Technologies

R-Tech Division Description

• Identify and prioritize high priority technology capability gaps facing the nation’s first responders.

• Rapidly develop technology solutions (over 12 to 18 months) for first responders that strengthen first responder safety, improve performance and enhance their ability to protect the homeland.

• REDOPS develops capabilities to detect and neutralize improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

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Office for Interoperability and Compatibility

OIC Division Description

• Enable interoperable communications and information

sharing (voice, video and data) among state, local,

tribal, territorial and federal first responders by

researching, developing, testing and commercializing

standards-based technologies and knowledge

products.

• Promote interoperable communications, tools,

technologies and capabilities to improve the

effectiveness and safety of first responders.

NGFR Apex Program Description

• NGFR is a five-year program to develop and integrate

innovative tech to make responders better protected,

connected and fully aware.

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Communications & PNT Resiliency

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Program Description

• The Communications & Position, Navigation and Timing (PNT)

Resiliency for Critical Infrastructure portfolio focuses on

spectrum-based threats.

• Communications Resiliency, led by Sridhar Kowdley (OIC),

focuses on defining and mitigating jamming vulnerabilities to

first responder communications and mission response.

• PNT Resiliency, led by Sarah Mahmood (OPS-R), focuses on

enhancing the security and resiliency of PNT-dependent

critical infrastructure via development of more robust and

diverse solutions and user equipment.

First Responder Unmanned Aerial Systems Applications

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Program Description

• Identify first responder capability gaps that can be filled with Unmanned Aerial Systems and provide objective information to assist in their purchasing decisions.

Core Activities

• Identify the primary use cases for UAS and counter-UAS operations for first responders.

• Define requirements for UAS operations, including tech specs, legal & policy issues, standard operating procedures, training needs and funding implications.

• Test and evaluate available COTS and GOTS products.

• Help provide technical reports and knowledge products to the first responder community.

• Develop operations model to enable first response agencies to bring in private entities to help support damage assessment and EM operations.

Information Applications and Systems

IAS Division Description

• Provide integrated solutions to enable first responders to exchange useful, actionable information in time to make a difference.

• Lead the integration of Internet of Things (IoT) sensor open standards with Smart Cities for incident management.

• Provide leadership in the advance of wireless emergency alerting (WEA) technology and communications.

• Demonstrate Identity Credential and Access Management (ICAM)

interoperable solutions and guidance for secure access of first

responder information and services with FirstNet.

Flood Apex Program

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Program Description

• Goal: Reduce fatalities and property

losses from floods.

• R&D: Sensors, alerts & warnings;

remote sensing & SA; new HPC and AI

products; new standards, mitigation

incentives & risk analysis.

• Near term: Provide FEMA with improved

capabilities and solutions for response,

recovery and mitigation.

• Longer term: Comprehensive strategy

for growing market capacity and public

sector capabilities in flood risk

management and technology.

Structures detection

using hi-res aerial

imagery to build

National Structures

Inventory

Flood-risk area

detection using

historical LANDSAT

data

Structures inventory

converted to 3D event

response map

SBIR-developed cheap networked flood sensors

drive geo-targeted alerts and warnings

Office for Public Safety Research

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OPS-R Division Description

• Core values – Scientific Quality, Mission Relevance,

Independence.

• Apply multidisciplinary research to complement technology

development activities and improve operations.

• Focus on Protection of Critical Infrastructure, Prevention of

Terrorism and Crimes against Persons, Improved Training,

Increased Technology Acceptance, Evaluation Research, and

Enhancement of Security.

• Portfolio areas include: Human Identity & Digital Forensics;

Decision Support for Disaster Response; Human Performance to

Enhance Security; and Social, Behavioral & Economic Sciences.

National Urban Security Technology Laboratory

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NUSTL Division Description

• Ensure effectiveness, performance and suitability

of technology for operational deployment by first

responders.

• Act as a national resource to bridge technology

developers and end users.

• Conduct R&D to save lives, minimize economic

impacts and enhance resiliency following a

radiological/nuclear emergency.

International Engagement

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• FRG works with its 13 bilateral partners to

ensure the rapid development of technologies

for first responders

• Overarching goal: to make first responders

safer, more efficient, and more effective

through technology

Forum Program Description

• Directly supports FRG’s overarching goal on both national and international levels

• Identifies opportunities, such as the U.S. –Israeli Binational Industrial Research & Development Foundation (BIRD) or Horizon 2020, to realize returns on investment.

• Established a technical understanding of, and work towards interoperability between existing NATO solutions for civil emergency coordination and the Next Generation Incident Command System (NICS) technology.

Transitions & Successes• Capability Gaps “Deep Dive” Analysis Synopsis

• First Responder Market Overview Synopsis

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FY16 Transitioned Prototypes

Mechanical Shooter (formerly Virtual Shooter): Developed via the Small Business Innovation

Research Program in partnership with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office of

Firearms and Tactical Programs, the Mechanical Shooter mimics exact movements of a human

shooting a handgun to reduce injuries and prevent strain from repetitive firing during firearm

testing.

X-Ray Scanning Rover (XSR): Improvised explosive device (IED) threats pose great danger to

the bomb technicians charged with disarming them. To counter this threat, the XSR was

developed as a diagnostic tool allowing responders to quickly determine whether suspicious

objects contain explosives without putting their own (and bystanders’) lives at risk.

NEON-P® (formerly Firefighter Accountability and Proximity): The technology leverages

existing time-of-flight tracking to allow first responders to quickly hone in on a colleague in

distress.

Wildland Firefighter Advanced PPE (WLFF APPS): National Fire Protection Association-

certified suite of personal protective equipment, WLFF APPS reduces wildland firefighter heat

stress injuries. The garment system improves radiant thermal protection and has increased form,

fit and function.

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FY16 Transitioned Prototypes (continued)

Special Purpose Low Impact Rupture System (SPLITR): During the development phase, the

SPLITR was used operationally in several locations in the United States. Based on successful

use, the SPLITR was formally adopted into the training curriculum at the FBI Hazardous Devices

School into their regular bomb technician certification and recertification course to train current

and future bomb techs.

Nitro-Turkey: RAPID developed a new more effective method for defeating traditional pipe

bomb threats. RAPID identified a new projectile based round to more reliably defeat pipe threats.

The research effort determined that the properties of this shell are ideally suited to reliably render

safe pipe bombs. The Nitro-Turkey replaces a more complicated and less reliable procedure.

The shell, known as the Nitro-Turkey, was also integrated in the FBI HDS training curriculum in

2016.

Laminated Window Portal Charge: The window portal charge is a robotically delivered means

of opening a hole into laminated vehicle windows. The tool was developed and documented for

bomb squad use.

Power Hawk: REDOPS has been working with federal, state and local bomb technicians to

understand and validate the Power Hawk, which proved to be extremely reliable from a

characterization perspective. As a result, the FBI has accepted the use of the Power Hawk to

defeat pipe bombs and will begin training bomb technicians across the country. On September

18, when pipe bombs were discovered in Elizabeth, NJ, the NJ State Police Bomb Squad used

the Power Hawk to mechanically defeat the devices.

Knowledge Products

• Response and Defeat Operations Support (REDOPS)• Special Technicians Bulletins and Assessment Reports

• SAVER – over 1,000 reports published

• Video Quality in Public Safety (VQiPS) • Policy Considerations for the Use of Video in Public Safety

• Digital Video Quality Handbook

• Advanced Communications Video Over LTE: Efficient Network Utilization Research

• Advanced Communications Video Over LTE: Video Design Improvement Process

• 2016 First Responder Electronic Jamming Exercise

• DHS-FCC Joint Jammer Infographic

• DHS-FCC Joint Jammer Bulletin for First Responders and Public Safety

• 2016 After Action Report

• Video Quality in Public Safety (VQiPS) • Policy Considerations for the Use of Video in Public Safety

• Digital Video Quality Handbook

• LTE/Land Mobile Radio (LMR) Integration • A Case Study of Interference Between Public Safety LTE and Public Safety 700MHz Land

Mobile Radio

• Project One Pagers

• 100-Second Videos

• Snapshots, Articles, Webinars, Round Tables

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Standards Focus Areas

• National Information Exchange Model (NIEM) Emergency Management (EM) Domain

• Identity, Credential and Assess Management (ICAM)

• P25 Land Mobile Radio

• Emergency Data Exchange Language (EDXL)

• Ambulance Standards

• LTE Video Standards

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GOTS Solutions Transitioned

• Enhanced Dynamic Geo-Social Environment (EDGE) Virtual Training Software

• Next Generation Incident Command System (NICS)

• Virtual USA

• Personnel Post Tracking System (PTS)

• Non-cooperative Biometrics

• Screener’s Auto-Diagnostic Adaptive Precision Training System (ScreenADAPT® / Eye-dentify

• Expert Tracker Training

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Training and Testing

• EDGE

• Virtual Fire

• Project 25 (P25) Compliance assessment program

• NUSTL conducted over 50 testing and evaluation events, such as operational experimentations and lab and field assessments, on a wide variety of first responder technologies

• NUSTL tested nearly 20,000 units of radiation detection equipment for first responder use as part of DHS Securing the Cities initiative (Personal Radiation Detectors, Radioisotope Identifiers, Backpack Radiation Search Instruments)

• NUSTL provided technical support to radiation detection training and exercises for nearly 2,000 state and local law enforcement officers. Types of RTE events include:

o New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Detector Response Marine Launch

o Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Improvised Nuclear Device (IND) Stabilization Exercise

o Ferry Search Exercise (New York City Police Department)

o Maritime Choke Point Exercises (multi-agency) Campaign in Harbor Waters

o Personal Radiation Detector Training Classes

o Port Authority Full-Scale Exercise – S1 at New Jersey Marine Terminals

o Red Team Maritime Exercise with DNDO

• NUSTL hosted 41 science and technology forums on emerging technology topics for the homeland security community: includes 500 members from 110 federal, state and local first responder agencies, academia and private sector institutions

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Engage With Us!

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WEBSITE

scitech.dhs.gov/first-

responders

TWITTER

@dhsscitech

FACEBOOK

@dhsscitech

@firstrespondersgroup

PERISCOPE

www.periscope.tv/dhsscitech/

YOUTUBE

youtube.com/dhsscitech

S&T NATIONAL CONVERSATION

http://scitech.ideascale.com/

DHS Science and Technology Directorate | MOBILIZING INNOVATION FOR A SECURE WORLD

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